If you’ve spent any time playing poker online you’ll have heard the terms “trips” and “sets” thrown around. But what exactly are these hands and how do they differ from one another? While it might seem like semantics at first glance, the difference between sets and trips is actually quite significant.
A set is a poker hand that consists of two of your own hole cards and a matching card on the board. This makes it a very strong hand that’s often referred to as being well-disguised because it can be hard for opponents to spot. As a result, you can often win a large pot with a set in no-limit hold’em without your opponent even knowing that you have the best hand.
The value of a set is further enhanced by the fact that it can beat high-ranked three-of-a-kind hands such as trips. This is because if the flop contains a third matching card then a player holding a set will make a full house while a player with trips will only be able to make three of kind with their own hole cards.
As a result, it’s not uncommon for players to call preflop raises with small pocket pairs in the hope of flopping a set. This strategy is known as set mining and it can be very profitable when executed correctly. The key to success is understanding implied odds, which account for money that’s not yet in the pot but can be expected to be put in on later streets.
When calculating the odds of making a set it’s important to keep in mind that you only flop a set about one in eight times. So, you’ll need to win a lot of pots when you do flop a set in order to generate a decent return on investment.
Despite this, a set is still a better hand than trips when it comes to generating an overall return on investment. This is because trips are a more difficult hand for opponents to spot, and as a result, they tend to be a less effective way of extracting money from other players’ stacks.
To illustrate the point let’s imagine that you’re playing a pot-limit Omaha game and your opponent raises from under the gun with pocket Aces. You decide to call and flop a set of Sevens. This is a big hand that will likely improve to the nuts on subsequent streets and should yield a significant payout. However, if your opponent has AK and flops a three-card straight, then they’ll have the best possible three-of-a-kind and will be able to beat your set. As a result, it’s important to understand the difference between trips and sets in poker so that you can make the most of your hands when they do hit.